inFaux

The Modern, Native Hardware Monitor & Open Telemetry Server for Windows
Real telemetry. Faux drivers. Colloquially known as "info".
Crafted with care by FoxDen Software

"Microsoft basically went 'we can't agree what temp is correct, so you can have none without kernel drivers' unless you do this complicated-ass math."

💡 Why inFaux?

For the last 15 years, the PC hardware monitoring world has been split into two frustrating extremes:

The 1998 C++ Grognards (HWiNFO, CPU-Z, Core Temp):
- The Problem: Dense, intimidating walls of 600 raw register lines with Windows XP-era interfaces. They rely on ancient, vulnerable kernel drivers (WinRing0.sys) that trip Windows 11's Vulnerable Driver Blocklist, and their only advice is "go disable Windows Defender Core Isolation."
The 800 MB Corporate Bloatware (Armoury Crate, NZXT CAM, Corsair iCUE):
- The Problem: Disguised web apps built on Electron or Chromium Embedded Framework. You download an app just to check your CPU temp and end up with 15 zombie background processes, 600+ MB of RAM consumed, mandatory account logins, telemetry trackers, and an RGB store.

The inFaux Golden Middle

inFaux ("info") bridges the void:

Single-Process Executable (inFaux.exe): Zero installers required, zero zombie background helpers, zero telemetry phoning home. Runs strictly as a standard non-elevated user (asInvoker) with zero UAC prompts. (It even displays a gentle notice if you accidentally launch it elevated!)
100% Driverless Architecture: Zero third-party hardware monitor libraries, zero kernel drivers, and zero vulnerability warnings. Fully compatible with Windows 11 Core Isolation, Memory Integrity (HVCI), and Defender.
Human-First Curated Dashboard: Clean, responsive, dark-mode dashboard with instant component drilldowns, a live all-sensors table, and deep thermal calibration controls.
Embedded Open API: A local REST and WebSocket server out-of-the-box on http://127.0.0.1:8765 for Stream Deck, Rainmeter, Home Assistant, or custom status displays.

🚀 Key Features

1. Curated Multi-View Dashboard & Component Drilldowns

Primary Dashboard: Glanceable metric cards with live 60-second sparklines for:
- Processor (CPU): Package temperature, total load %, dynamic wattage, and boost clock speed.
- Graphics (GPU): Multi-GPU selector pills, core clock, temperature, hotspot, VRAM usage, power, and fan speed.
- System Memory (RAM): Memory load %, used/total GB, available GB, and memory speed (MT/s).
- Storage Volumes: Live aggregate read/write throughput (MB/s), total capacity, and volume utilization.
- Network & Power: Real-time download/upload throughput (Mbps), active adapter interface, and battery state (automatically adapts column layout on battery-equipped systems).
Deep Component Drilldowns: Click any card on the dashboard to access dedicated telemetry views:
- CPU View: Per-core breakdown across all physical cores and threads with live per-core frequencies (MHz), load percentages, and dynamic thermal flux modeling.
- GPU View: Multi-adapter switcher, vendor-native hardware telemetry (NVML / ADL / DXGI), core/memory clocks, VRAM allocation, dynamic power wattage, and fan RPM.
- Storage View: Volume capacities, real-time read/write throughput rates (MB/s via PDH), physical drive SMART attributes (health status, firmware revision, serial number, bus type NVMe/SATA, media type SSD/HDD, active TRIM status, and hardware diode / thermodynamic fallback temps).
- Network & Power View: Real-time throughput rates (Mbps), adapter switcher (Auto highest traffic or specific adapter), link speed, battery charge/discharge wattage, AC line state, and estimated runtime minutes.
All Sensors View: Complete live DataGrid table of all raw hardware sensors and channels with min/max tracking, category, type, and current values (rendered via non-destructive in-place sync to eliminate visual flickering).
Settings & Tuning View: Interactive controls for polling intervals, tray icon sensor targets, network adapter binding, chassis form factor profiles, cooler profiles, live thermal calibration offset slider (-15°C to +15°C), CPU TDP override targets, and 1-click API testing.

2. The Thermodynamic Observer, Per-Core Flux & Room Ambient Estimation

The Problem: Modern CPUs only expose raw Digital Thermal Sensors (DTS) and package wattage via Ring-0 MSRs (0x19C / 0x611). Windows 11 Defender blocks legacy kernel drivers by default, causing traditional tools to fail without compromising core isolation. Furthermore, real physical silicon temps fluctuate in sub-millisecond bursts that raw diode polling aliases and distorts.
The inFaux Solution:
- Technical Designation: Non-Invasive Asymmetric Lumped-Capacitance Thermal State Estimator with Per-Core Dynamic Thermal Flux
  What that actually means in plain English:
  Instead of needing a dangerous kernel driver to poke Ring-0 registers, inFaux applies Newtonian thermodynamics. It models your processor, cooler, and chassis as a connected physical system:
  - Non-Invasive: Runs 100% in user space (asInvoker) without kernel drivers (WinRing0.sys), UAC prompts, or Core Isolation conflicts.
  - Asymmetric Lumped-Capacitance: Treats the copper Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) and cooler cold plate like a thermal battery. Solid copper absorbs heat rapidly when a thread spikes ($\tau_{\text{rise}} = 1.8\text{s}$), but dissipates it much slower as heat sinks bleed wattage into the air ($\tau_{\text{fall}} = 3.5\text{s}$).
  - Thermal State Estimator: Continuously solves differential cooling equations anchored to real chassis thermal baselines (NVMe & GPU diodes) rather than wildly oscillating on noisy sub-millisecond diode blips.
  - Per-Core Dynamic Thermal Flux: Acknowledges that modern CPUs don't heat up uniformly—a core boosting to 5 GHz under heavy load generates localized Joule heat blooming within its specific CCX / P-core cluster before conducting across the substrate.
- Chassis-Anchored Boundary Conditions: Continuously derives ambient floor temperature ($T_{\text{ambient}}$) from passive chassis hardware (NVMe & GPU diode baselines).
- Chassis Cavity & Room Ambient Estimation: Extrapolates chassis cavity enclosure air temperature and mathematically solves for estimated room ambient temperature via convective dissipation slope ($P \to 0\text{W}$), displayed in real time in both °C and °F.
- CMOS Dynamic Power Extrapolation: Calculates live dynamic wattage ($P_{\text{dynamic}} \propto f^2 \cdot \text{load} \cdot \text{TDP}$) via native Win32 PDH per-core frequencies.
- Newtonian Thermal Mass Diffusion: Solves heat absorption and dissipation across the copper Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) and cooler cold plate using an asymmetric first-order IIR low-pass filter ($\tau_{\text{rise}} = 1.8\text{s}$, $\tau_{\text{fall}} = 3.5\text{s}$).
- Per-Core Thermal Flux Modeling: Models localized thermal gradients across physical core pairs (e.g. Zen CCX / Intel P-core clusters) factoring in individual core loads and clock boost states.

3. Intelligent Multi-GPU & APU Support

Multi-GPU Architecture: Automatically enumerates and tracks all graphics adapters simultaneously (discrete GPUs and integrated APUs).
Vendor-Native User-Mode Probes:
- NVIDIA NVML (nvml.dll): Direct interop with official NVIDIA Management Library in System32 for core/memory clocks, power wattage, fan speed %, VRAM, and diode / hotspot temps.
- AMD ADL (atiadlxx.dll): Direct interop with AMD Display Library in System32 for Overdrive temperatures and power.
- DirectX DXGI COM Interop (IDXGIFactory1, IDXGIAdapter3): Zero-driver adapter enumeration, dedicated video memory, and shared system memory tracking.
Discrete Prioritization: Automatically selects high-performance discrete GPUs when present for primary telemetry and tray badge.
APU & iGPU Intelligence: Dynamically attributes SoC shared die temperatures and allocates load-weighted power slices (e.g., AMD Radeon 780M / 680M / Intel Iris Xe) without false sensor warnings or phantom fan RPMs.

4. Embedded Read-Only Open API (Port 8765)

Built-in local HTTP + WebSocket server powered by ASP.NET Core Kestrel on http://127.0.0.1:8765:

GET / — Root overview with API manifest and version.
GET /api/v1/summary — Clean JSON snapshot of curated system telemetry.
GET /api/v1/sensors — Complete flat list of all hardware probes with min/max tracking.
GET /api/v1/sensors/{category} — Category-filtered sensors (cpu, gpu, memory, storage, network).
GET /api/v1/history/{metricId} — 60-second rolling ring buffer for sparklines (cpu_temp, gpu_temp, ram_load, etc.).
GET /api/v1/health — Service health check and uptime status.
WS /api/v1/stream — Low-latency WebSocket push stream for live dashboards, Stream Decks, and Discord bots.

5. Stream Deck Companion Suite (Built-In LCM)

Real-Time Physical Hardware Gauges: Dynamic canvas-rendered gauges for CPU, GPU, RAM, and Network with live wattage, thermal color grading, usage percentages, and progress bars.
Multi-GPU & Multi-Network Support:
- Property Inspector Dropdown: Easily choose which specific GPU (discrete cards, integrated APUs/iGPUs) or network adapter (Ethernet, Wi-Fi) each key monitors.
- Physical Tap-to-Cycle: Tap the physical key on your Stream Deck to instantly cycle through available GPUs or network interfaces on the fly.
Zero-Config Lifecycle Management (LCM):
- Built straight into the inFaux Settings tab.
- 1-Click Install: Drops the plugin directly into %APPDATA%\Elgato\StreamDeck\Plugins\ with zero web searches, zero manual file copying, and zero marketplace accounts.
- 1-Click Repair / Update & Clean Uninstall: One-click management with version auditing.
Also distributed as a standalone, double-click installable package: com.foxden.infaux.streamDeckPlugin.

6. Dynamic Numeric System Tray Icon

Draws live, readable temperature numbers (e.g. 42° or 68°) directly onto your Windows system tray icon using GDI+ pixel fonts.
Customizable Target: Choose between CPU Package Temp, Primary GPU Temp, or Highest (CPU/GPU) auto-tracking.
Intelligent Thermal Color-Coding:
- 🟢 Cyan (< 65°C): Cool & nominal.
- 🟡 Amber (65–79°C): Moderate gaming / compiling workload.
- 🔴 Red (≥ 80°C): Thermal throttling / heavy stress.
Automatically recovers if explorer.exe restarts.

7. Zero-UAC Lifecycle & Companion Scripts

Standard User Autostart: Registers with Windows Task Scheduler using standard user permissions—starts on boot with 0 UAC prompts.
Zero-Elevation Installer (install.ps1): Installs cleanly into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\inFaux, sets up shortcuts, registers in Windows Installed Apps (Add or Remove Programs), and validates SHA-256 hashes.
Cryptographic Auditor (verify.ps1): Automatically downloads and verifies your local inFaux.exe against official GitHub Release SHA-256 checksums.
Clean Uninstaller (uninstall.ps1): Complete 1-click system removal of scheduled tasks, shortcuts, registry entries, and program files.

🔌 API Quick Reference

Curated Snapshot (`GET /api/v1/summary`)

{
  "timestamp": "2026-09-26T20:20:00Z",
  "cpu": {
    "name": "AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U w/ Radeon 780M Graphics",
    "tempC": 39.5,
    "loadPercent": 14.8,
    "powerWatts": 18.2,
    "clockGhz": 3.30,
    "coreCount": 8,
    "cores": [
      { "name": "Core 0", "tempC": 39.2, "clockMhz": 3294, "loadPercent": 12.0 },
      { "name": "Core 1", "tempC": 40.1, "clockMhz": 3410, "loadPercent": 18.5 }
    ]
  },
  "gpu": {
    "name": "AMD Radeon 780M Graphics",
    "isDiscrete": false,
    "vendor": "AMD",
    "tempC": 39.5,
    "hotspotTempC": null,
    "loadPercent": 0.0,
    "powerWatts": 1.8,
    "vramUsedGb": 0.35,
    "vramTotalGb": 3.91,
    "fanRpm": null
  },
  "memory": {
    "usedGb": 14.3,
    "totalGb": 28.0,
    "percent": 51.0,
    "availableGb": 13.7,
    "speedMts": 6400
  },
  "storage": [
    {
      "name": "Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM",
      "driveLetter": "C:",
      "tempC": 36.0,
      "healthPercent": 100.0,
      "healthStatus": "Healthy (OK)",
      "busType": "NVMe",
      "mediaType": "Solid State Drive (SSD)",
      "usedGb": 412.5,
      "totalGb": 953.8,
      "readSpeedMBps": 1.2,
      "writeSpeedMBps": 0.4
    }
  ],
  "network": {
    "adapterName": "Wi-Fi",
    "adapterDescription": "Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6E AX210 160MHz",
    "downloadMbps": 4.82,
    "uploadMbps": 0.65
  },
  "chassis": {
    "chassisAirTempC": 36.8,
    "chassisAirTempF": 98.2,
    "estimatedAmbientTempC": 22.4,
    "estimatedAmbientTempF": 72.3,
    "thermalResistanceCPerW": 0.35,
    "confidencePercent": 85
  }
}

⚡ Quick Install

Run in a standard (non-elevated) PowerShell window:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TalviFox/inFaux/main/install.ps1 | iex

Note

No Administrator Privileges Required: inFaux is 100% zero-driver and designed to run safely with standard user permissions (asInvoker). Do not run the installer as Administrator!

Or grab inFaux.exe directly from the Releases page for zero-install portable use.

🛠️ Building & Releasing

Prerequisites

Windows 10 (Build 19041+) or Windows 11
.NET 10.0 SDK

Build from Source

# Debug build
dotnet build -c Debug

# Release single-file build
dotnet publish InFox.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=true -o publish

Automated Release Builder

Run the automated FoxDen release builder:

.\release.ps1 -Version "1.0.0" -SkipGit

The script will:

Compile a self-contained, single-file executable for win-x64.
Generate publish\inFaux.exe.
Compute the cryptographic SHA-256 checksum and output publish\SHA256SUMS.txt and publish\inFaux.exe.sha256.
Generate release notes ready for GitHub Releases.

Verify Cryptographic Integrity

Run the built-in auditor to verify your installed binary against official GitHub release hashes:

.\verify.ps1

⚙️ Configuration Reference

Settings are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\inFaux\config.json:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`apiPort`	`int`	`8765`	Port for the embedded Kestrel REST and WebSocket API
`enableApi`	`bool`	`true`	Enables or disables the embedded HTTP/WebSocket server
`apiBindLocalhostOnly`	`bool`	`true`	When true, binds only to `127.0.0.1` (safe user-mode loopback)
`pollingIntervalMs`	`int`	`1000`	Telemetry harvest interval in milliseconds (250ms–2000ms)
`traySensorTarget`	`string`	`"cpu_temp"`	Tray badge metric: `"cpu_temp"`, `"gpu_temp"`, or `"auto_max_temp"`
`preferredNetworkAdapter`	`string`	`"Auto"`	Interface to monitor: `"Auto"` (highest traffic) or specific adapter
`chassisProfile`	`string`	`"Auto"`	Enclosure profile for air cavity modeling: `"Auto"`, `"Laptop"`, `"Desktop"`
`coolerProfile`	`string`	`"Auto"`	Dissipation scaling: `"Auto"`, `"AIO"`, `"TowerAir"`, `"Compact"`
`cpuThermalOffset`	`double`	`0.0`	Live calibration offset in °C (-15.0 to +15.0)
`cpuTdpOverrideWatts`	`int`	`0`	Package TDP target for Joule heating (0 = auto-detect)
`trayDisplayBadge`	`bool`	`true`	Toggle drawing the live numeric temperature badge on the tray icon
`startWithWindows`	`bool`	`true`	Start on user logon via Windows Task Scheduler (0 UAC prompts)
`checkForUpdates`	`bool`	`true`	Automatic GitHub release auditor check

🤖 Transparency & AI Disclosure

inFaux is developed with the assistance of AI coding tools. In the spirit of open development and personal accountability: I don't post what I don't run.

Every feature, script, and build is actively dogfooded, tested, and run on my own daily-driver machines before it is published here.

🦊 FoxDen Software Suite

WireFox — Intelligent WireGuard Roaming Companion for Windows
inFaux — Modern Native Hardware Monitor & Telemetry Server

Copyright © FoxDen Software. Distributed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0.
Elgato and Stream Deck are registered trademarks of Corsair Memory, Inc. inFaux is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Corsair or Elgato.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Api		Api
Engine		Engine
Models		Models
Services		Services
Tray		Tray
ViewModels		ViewModels
Views		Views
docs		docs
integrations/streamdeck		integrations/streamdeck
App.xaml		App.xaml
App.xaml.cs		App.xaml.cs
InFox.csproj		InFox.csproj
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
Stream-Deck.png		Stream-Deck.png
app.manifest		app.manifest
inFaux-Core-Temps.png		inFaux-Core-Temps.png
inFaux-Main-Screen.png		inFaux-Main-Screen.png
inFaux.ico		inFaux.ico
inFaux_IHS.png		inFaux_IHS.png
install.ps1		install.ps1
release.ps1		release.ps1
uninstall.ps1		uninstall.ps1
verify.ps1		verify.ps1

Navigation Menu

Repository files navigation

inFaux

💡 Why inFaux?

The inFaux Golden Middle

🚀 Key Features

1. Curated Multi-View Dashboard & Component Drilldowns

2. The Thermodynamic Observer, Per-Core Flux & Room Ambient Estimation

3. Intelligent Multi-GPU & APU Support

4. Embedded Read-Only Open API (Port 8765)

5. Stream Deck Companion Suite (Built-In LCM)

6. Dynamic Numeric System Tray Icon

7. Zero-UAC Lifecycle & Companion Scripts

🔌 API Quick Reference

Curated Snapshot (`GET /api/v1/summary`)

⚡ Quick Install

🛠️ Building & Releasing

Prerequisites

Build from Source

Automated Release Builder

Verify Cryptographic Integrity

⚙️ Configuration Reference

🤖 Transparency & AI Disclosure

🦊 FoxDen Software Suite

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Repository files navigation

inFaux

💡 Why inFaux?

The inFaux Golden Middle

🚀 Key Features

1. Curated Multi-View Dashboard & Component Drilldowns

2. The Thermodynamic Observer, Per-Core Flux & Room Ambient Estimation

3. Intelligent Multi-GPU & APU Support

4. Embedded Read-Only Open API (Port 8765)

5. Stream Deck Companion Suite (Built-In LCM)

6. Dynamic Numeric System Tray Icon

7. Zero-UAC Lifecycle & Companion Scripts

🔌 API Quick Reference

Curated Snapshot (GET /api/v1/summary)

⚡ Quick Install

🛠️ Building & Releasing

Prerequisites

Build from Source

Automated Release Builder

Verify Cryptographic Integrity

⚙️ Configuration Reference

🤖 Transparency & AI Disclosure

🦊 FoxDen Software Suite

About

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Resources

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Curated Snapshot (`GET /api/v1/summary`)